Season 4
The 4th season of the television series first premiered on VHS in 1994 and 1995. It premiered in the UK between July and August of 1995. It aired between 1995 and 1996 on Shining Time Station and Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales in the US. All 26 episodes were narrated by Michael Angelis in the UK and George Carlin in the US. Episodes # Granpuff - Thomas tells the story of Duke and what happened to him after his railway closed. # Sleeping Beauty - Thomas completes his story of Duke, telling how he was eventually rediscovered. # Bulldog - Thomas tells Percy about the time Falcon was impatient and nearly paid dearly for it. # You Can't Win - Duke proves he still has a lot of life left in him. # Four Little Engines - Sir Handel derails, so Skarloey helps out. # A Bad Day for Sir Handel - Sir Handel is in a bad mood. # Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady - Peter Sam's eagerness means the Refreshment Lady is nearly left behind. # Trucks!/Rusty Helps Peter Sam - Gordon advises Sir Handel to get out of work by pretending to be ill, and Peter Sam pays the price. # Home at Last - Skarloey returns from the Works. # Rock 'n' Roll - Duncan is careless and gets in trouble after derailing on a bumpy line. # Special Funnel - Peter Sam's funnel is knocked off by an icicle, and is temporarily replaced by a drainpipe. # Steamroller - Sir Handel matches wits with a steamroller. # Passengers and Polish - Duncan refuses to move his train without being polished. # Gallant Old Engine/The Gallant Old Engine - Skarloey tells Duncan the story of how Rheneas saved the railway. # Rusty to the Rescue - Rusty travels to the Other Railway to find a steam engine. # Thomas and Stepney - Thomas is jealous when Stepney comes to visit. # Train Stops Play - Stepney "catches" a cricket ball in a truck, prompting a chase along the branch line. # Bowled Out - A stuck-up Diesel makes a fool of himself, and Duck and Stepney save the day. # Henry and the Elephant - After a circus leaves, Henry discovers an elephant in a tunnel. # Toad Stands By - Toad advises Oliver on how to regain the trucks' respect. # Bulls Eyes - Daisy teases Toby about his cowcatchers and side-plates, but learns that they are there for a reason. # Thomas and the Special Letter - The engines receive a letter inviting them to visit the mainland, but Thomas' carelessness almost spoils the trip. # Paint Pots and Queens/Thomas Meets the Queen - Henry upsets a painter, while Thomas and Gordon try to behave for Queen Elizabeth II's visit. # Fish - Duck has a fishy surprise when he helps Henry with "The Flying Kipper". # Special Attraction - Toby is upset when he realises there is no room for him at a seaside festival, but Percy proves they are all special anyway. # Mind that Bike - Tom Tipper the postman is unhappy when his post van is replaced by a bicycle, but Percy helps him out, not in the way he intended. Characters * Thomas * Edward * Henry * Gordon * James * Percy * Toby * Duck * Donald and Douglas * Oliver * Daisy * Annie and Clarabel * Toad * Harold * Sir Topham Hatt * The Crovan's Gate Policeman * The Dryaw Policeman * Bill and Ben (do not speak) * Diesel (does not speak) * BoCo (does not speak) * Mavis (does not speak) * Henrietta (does not speak) * Bertie (does not speak) * Terence (cameo) * Trevor (cameo) * Bulgy (cameo) * Stephen Hatt (cameo) * Mrs. Kyndley (cameo) * Jem Cole (cameo) * The Vicar of Wellsworth (cameo) * Farmer Trotter (cameo) * Bridget Hatt (music video cameo) * The Storyteller (music video cameo) Characters introduced * Stepney * The Diesel * Skarloey * Rheneas * Sir Handel * Peter Sam * Duncan * Duke * Smudger * Rusty * S. C. Ruffey * George * Caroline * Bulstrode * The Refreshment Lady * Nancy * Tom Tipper * Queen Elizabeth II (does not speak) * Sir Robert Norramby (indirectly mentioned) * Other Mid Sodor Railway Engines (indirectly mentioned) Trivia * This was the first season of several things: ** The first season to feature the Skarloey Railway. ** The first season to feature Callan and The Misty Valley Branch Line ** The first season not to end with a Christmas-themed episode. ** The first season to add the Proteus Ultra to compose the music. **The first season where Bertie never spoke in any of his appearances. * This was also the last season of a few things: ** The last production to feature episodes based on the Railway Series until The Adventure Begins, and therefore the last to have Wilbert Awdry as a technical consultant. ** George Carlin's last season as narrator. ** The last season to be shown on Shining Time Station. ** The last season to be released completely on VHS in New Zealand. ** The last season to be dubbed in Ukrainian. * This season contained the 100th episode of the television series. * To date, this season introduced the most new characters. * Oddly, a significant amount of sound effects and music are missing in the US versions of most Season 4 episodes, a notable example being Rusty Helps Peter Sam, which misses almost all the music in the first half of the episode. The episode also excludes most of Peter Sam's whistles, and adds an unusual sounding whistle when he does after his accident. * This season is unique as the first fifteen episodes were focused primarily on the Skarloey Railway engines. * This season is also unique in the way (starting with Rusty to the Rescue and ending with Bowled Out) forms a four part episode primarily focused on Stepney the Bluebell Engine. * All Chinese narrations from this season credit George Carlin as the narrator and all Norwegian/Hindi narrations credit Michael Angelis, even though the episodes were re-dubbed. * In the Ukrainian narration, Michael Angelis' voice can be still heard in the background.